Mobile network conditional policy execution based on ue geographic location

ABSTRACT

A network device receives, from a policy control function (PCF), at least one set of multiple user equipment device (UE)-location based conditional policy rules. The network device selects a first one of the multiple UE-location based conditional policy rules based on a first geographic location of a first UE, and controls data traffic associated with the first UE using the selected first one of the plurality of UE-location based conditional policy rules.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

The present application is a continuation of, and claims priority to,U.S. application Ser. No. 17/001,846 entitled “Mobile NetworkConditional Policy Execution Based on UE Geographic Location,” filedAug. 25, 2020, the content of which is incorporated by reference hereinin its entirety.

BACKGROUND

Edge computing may involve a cloud-based Information Technology (IT)service environment located at an edge of a network. One of the purposesof edge computing is to enable high-bandwidth, low-latency access tolatency-sensitive applications distributed at the edge of the networkclosest to the user. A primary goal of edge computing is to reducenetwork congestion and improve application performance by executing taskprocessing closer to end users thereby improving the delivery of contentand applications to the end users and reducing transport costs for highbandwidth services. Applications where edge computing is highlydesirable may include on-line gaming, augmented reality (AR), virtualreality (VR), wirelessly connected vehicles, and Internet of Things(IoT) applications (e.g., industry 4.0 applications). Additionally, edgecomputing can be beneficial in large public venues and enterpriseorganizations where services are delivered to onsite consumers from anedge server located at or near the venue or organization. In suchlarge-scale use cases, data content may be locally produced, stored,processed, and/or delivered from an edge server, thus, ensuring reducedbackhaul, low latency, or even ultra-low latency. Multi-Access EdgeComputing (MEC) is one type of edge computing. MEC moves the processing,storing, and/or delivery of traffic and services from a centralizednetwork to a data center(s) at the edge of the network, closer to theend user.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates an overview of the provision and use oflocation-based conditional policy rules for controlling trafficassociated with UEs in a wireless network;

FIG. 2 illustrates an exemplary network environment in which conditionalpolicies, based on user equipment device (UE) geographic location, areexecuted to control traffic within a mobile network;

FIG. 3 is a diagram that depicts exemplary components of a device ofFIG. 1 or 2;

FIG. 4 is a flow diagram that illustrates an exemplary process forapplying different conditional policy rules to traffic based on ageographic location of a UE; and

FIGS. 5 and 6 illustrate exemplary operations, messages, and data flowsassociated with the process of FIG. 4.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The following detailed description refers to the accompanying drawings.The same reference numbers in different drawings may identify the sameor similar elements. The following detailed description does not limitthe invention.

In existing networks, such as Fifth Generation networks, the PolicyControl Function (PCF) updates network Quality of Service (QoS) Policyrules based on the Presence Reporting Area (PRA) within which a userequipment device (referred to herein as a “UE” or “UEs”) is currentlylocated. When the UE is in a Fourth Generation (4G)-only networkcoverage area, the PCF installs, at a Packet Data Network (PDN) Gateway(PGW), 4G QoS policy rules and when the UE is in a 5G network coveragearea, the PCF installs, at a Session Management Function (SMF), 5G QoSpolicy rules. Currently, the SMF or PGW sends a message to the PCF eachtime the UE moves from one coverage area type to another, and the PCFupdates the QoS policy rules at the SMF or the PGW upon receipt of themessage. With the use of millimeter (mm) wave spectrum in 5G networks,these transitions between coverage area types (e.g., 4G to 5G, 5G to 4G)occur frequently, and the messaging traffic volume between the SMF/PGWand the PCF can become quite large.

With exemplary embodiments described herein, the PCF pre-loads a set ofpolicy rules to the SMF or PGW, where the set of policy rules includesgeographic conditions under which the SMF/PGW applies the policy rules.The SMF/PGW can then automatically apply the pre-loaded policy rulesbased on the UE's current geographic location, without having toexchange messages with the PCF during network transitions (e.g., 4G to5G, 5G to 4G) of the UEs. Exemplary embodiments described herein,therefore, significantly reduce messaging traffic between the PCF andthe SMF/PGW due to UE movement.

Exemplary embodiments described herein enable conditional policyexecution in a wireless network based on a geographic location of UEs.As described herein, PCFs of the wireless network may specify a set ofpolicy rules that can be supplied to the SMFs or PGWs for conditionalexecution based on a current geographic location of the UEs beinghandled by the SMFs of PGWs. In some implementations, the conditionalpolicy rules may include Quality of Service (QoS) rules that may beapplied by the SMFs/PGWs to control the QoS level of the UE traffictransported across the wireless network. In further implementations, theconditional policy rules may include MEC data center (also referred toherein as a “MEC”) selection rules that may be applied by the SMFs/PGWsto select a particular MEC, of multiple MECs, that may process andhandle traffic from particular UEs (i.e., selection of a particular MECto which traffic for a given UE may be offloaded). Selection of a MECfor UE traffic offloading, using the conditional MEC selection policyrules, enables the improvement of certain QoS parameters associated withUE traffic (e.g., reduces latency) and reduces a volume of messagingtraffic between the PCF and the SMF/PGW thereby improving the efficiencyof the MEC traffic offloading.

FIG. 1 illustrates an overview of the provision and use of locationbased conditional policy rules for controlling traffic in a wirelessnetwork. As shown, a PCF 100 in a wireless network 105 receives locationbased conditional policy rule sets 110-1 through 110-n (where n isgreater than or equal to 1). Each of the conditional policy rule sets110-1 through 110-n includes a set of multiple conditional policy rulesfor controlling traffic associated with a UE or UEs. A network operatoror network administrator of wireless network 105 may generate and supplythe conditional policy rule sets 110-1 through 110-n to PCF 100, and PCF100 may locally store the received conditional policy rule sets 110-1through 110-n. In some embodiments, the conditional policy rule sets110-1 through 110-n may be generated specifically for a particularUE/subscriber. Therefore, in these embodiments, different conditionalpolicy rule sets 110-1 through 110-n may be generated for differentUEs/subscribers. In other embodiments, the conditional policy rule sets110-1 through 110-n may be generated for a particular group ofUEs/subscribers. In these embodiments, different conditional policy rulesets 110-1 through 110-n may be generated for each different group ofUEs/subscribers. Each group of UEs/subscribers may have, for example, asame level of network subscription, be located in a same geographic areaof the wireless network 105, be a same type or model of UE, etc.

Upon power-up 115 of a UE 120, PCF 100 retrieves a conditional policyrule set 110, from sets 110-1 through 110-n, for that particularUE/subscriber (or a group of UEs/subscribers to which the UE 120belongs), and sends the conditional policy rule set 110 (genericallyreferred to herein as a “policy rule set 110” or “policy rule sets 110”)to a Session Management Function (SMF) 125 and/or a Packet Data Network(PDN) Gateway (PGW) 130 in wireless network 105 that is handling the UE120. SMF 125 performs session management and selects and controlsparticular nodes (e.g., User Plane Functions (UPFs)) for data transport,including applying a policy rule from the policy rule sets 110. PGW 245routes session traffic between UEs and source/destination nodes. In oneimplementation, the conditional policy rule set 110 may include UElocation-based Quality of Service (QoS) rules for UE traffic. In thisimplementation, SMF 125 or PGW 130 selectively applies a QoS policyrule, from among multiple policy rules, to traffic to and from the UEbased on the UE 120's current geographic location. In anotherimplementation, the conditional policy rule set 110 may include MEC siteselection rules for UE traffic. In this implementation, SMF 125 or PGW130 selectively applies a policy rule, from among multiple policy rules,that further selects a MEC data center for handling the UE 120's trafficbased on the UE 120's current geographic location.

Subsequent to being pre-loaded with a policy rule set 110, SMF 125 orPGW 130 obtains information that identifies a current geographiclocation of the UE 120 and then selectively applies 140 a conditionalpolicy rule of the conditional policy rule set 110, based on the UE120's current geographic location, to control the UE 120's traffic 135over wireless network 105. As a simplified example, conditional policyrule sets 110 may include a single set of QoS policies having two policyrules: 1) policy rule #1-if the UE 120 is currently located in a 4G onlycoverage area, then PGW 130 restricts the UE 120 to data transport at afirst QoS level (e.g., video streaming with a first, lower videoresolution, such as 720p); or 2) policy rule #2-if the UE 120 iscurrently located in a 5G coverage area, then SMF 125 enables the UE 120to engage in data transport at a second QoS level (e.g., video streamingwith a second, higher video resolution, such as 4K). As anothersimplified example, conditional policy rule sets 110 may include asingle set of MEC site selection policies having two or more policyrules: 1) policy rule #1—if the UE 120 is currently located ingeographic region x₁, then SMF 125 or PGW 130 selects MEC 1 for handlingUE traffic to/from the UE 120; 2) policy rule #2—if the UE 120 iscurrently located in geographic region x₂, then SMF 125 or PGW 130selects MEC 2 for handling traffic to/from the UE 120; or 3) policy rule#z—if the UE 120 is currently located in geographic region x_(z), thenSMF 125 or PGW 130 selects MEC z for handling traffic to/from the UE120. The conditional policy rules of conditional policy rule sets 110may each include any type of conditional rule that controls, or appliesa network function or action to, traffic to/from a UE 120 based on theUE 120's geographic location.

FIG. 2 illustrates an exemplary network environment 200 in whichconditional policies, based on UE geographic location, are executed tocontrol UE traffic within the mobile network 105. As shown, networkenvironment 200 includes a wireless network 105, a Packet Data Network(PDN) 205, multiple MEC data centers 210-1 through 210-y (referred toherein as a “MEC 210” or “MECs 210”), and a UE 120.

Wireless network 105 may include any type of Public Land Mobile Network(PLMN) that provides wireless network service to UEs. In oneimplementation, wireless network 105 may include a hybrid FourthGeneration/Fifth Generation (4G/5G) wireless network that includes both4G network components and 5G network components. For example, asdepicted in FIG. 2, wireless network 105 may include a 5G stand-alone(SA) Radio Access Network (RAN) 215, and other 5G network components,such as a Session Management Function (SMF) 125, a User Plane Function(UPF) 225, and a PCF 100. Wireless network 105 may further include a 4Gnon-stand-alone (NSA) RAN 230, and other 4G network components, such asa Mobility Management Entity (MME) 235, a Serving Gateway (SGW) 240, anda PGW 130. PGW 130 and UPF 225 of wireless network 105 may each connectdirectly to MECs 210-1 through 210-y, or indirectly via PDN 205. Thoughonly a single PGW 130 and UPF 225 are shown in FIG. 2, wireless network105 may include multiple PGWs 130 and multiple UPFs 225.

PDN 205 may include any type packet-switched network that may be used totransport data and to interconnect with other networks and devices. Forexample, PDN 205 may include a wired and/or wireless local area networkLAN, a wired and/or wireless wide area network (WAN), a metropolitanarea network (MAN), an intranet, and/or the Internet. PDN 205 mayinterconnect with wireless network 105 and MECs 210.

MECs 210-1 through 210-y may each include one or more devices networkedtogether. MECs 210 may each include, for example, a secure gateway, aserver, and/or an MEC hosting infrastructure that enable applicationsand services to be hosted near a particular geographic region to ensurelow latency of traffic and services to that geographic region. Each ofMECs 210 may be installed in close proximity to certain locations orvenues, such as close to smart infrastructure or large-scale venues(e.g., a sporting or concert arena, a theme park, etc.). MECs 210 mayhost different types of applications and services that process trafficfrom UE 120.

UE 120 may include any type of electronic device having a wirelesscommunication capability. In some embodiments, UE 120 may include amobile wireless device. UE 120 may include, for example, a laptop,palmtop, desktop, or tablet computer; a personal digital assistant(PDA); a cellular phone (e.g., a “smart” phone); a Voice over InternetProtocol (VoIP) phone; a smart television (TV); an audio speaker (e.g.,a “smart” speaker); a video gaming device; a music player (e.g., adigital audio player); a digital camera; a device in a vehicle; awireless telematics device; an Augmented Reality/Virtual Reality (AR/VR)headset or glasses; or an Internet of Things (IoT) or Machine-to-Machine(M2M) device. A user (not shown) may carry, use, administer, and/oroperate UE 120.

In a 4G portion of wireless network 105, PGW 130 includes a networkdevice, or a software function executed by a network device, that actsas a router and a gateway between network 105 and PDN 205. PGW 130 mayforward session data received from UE 120 to PDN 205 towardsdestinations, and may forward session data received from sources in PDN205 to a UE 120 connected to a 4G NSA RAN 230, and/or between MECs 210and 4G NSA RAN 230. SGW 240 includes a network device, or a softwarefunction executed by a network device, that routes and forwards sessiondata between PGW 130 and a 4G NSA RAN 230 serving the session'sdestination UE 120. As shown in FIG. 2, PGW 130 may include a controlcomponent, PGW-C 130-C, and a user plane component PGW-U 130-U. PGW-C130-C may execute the control functions of the PGW 130 and PGW-U 130-Umay execute the user plane functions of the PGW 130.

MME 235 includes a network device, or a software function executed by anetwork device, that acts as a control entity for the 4G portion ofwireless network 105. MME 235 further provides UE 120 with mobilitymanagement and session management functions using, for example, NetworkAccess Stratum (NAS) signaling. 4G NSA RAN 230 may provide wirelessnetwork access to UE 120 and may include, among other components, atleast one base-band unit (BBU) and multiple remote radio heads (RRHs)for providing a radio communication interface to a UE 120 thatsubscribes to 4G wireless network service from network 105. A “basestation” of 4G NSA RAN 230 of wireless network 105 may include a BBUconnected to a RRH, and the RRH may connect to an antenna array of atower of the base station.

In a 5G portion of wireless network 105, UPF 225 includes a networkdevice, or a software function executed by a network device, that actsas a router and a gateway between network 105 and PDN 205 and/or MECs210. UPF 225 may forward session data between PDN 205 and 5G SA RAN 215,or between MECs 210 and 5G SA RAN 215. The 5G portion of network 105 mayinclude multiple UPFs 225 disposed at various geographic locations innetwork 105 (only a single UPF 225 is shown for purposes of simplicity).SMF 125 includes a network device, or a software function(s) executed bya network device, that performs session management, and selects andcontrols the UPF(s) 225 for data transfer. Though not shown in FIG. 2,the 5G portion of wireless network 105 may additionally include anAccess and Mobility Management Function (AMF) that performs accessauthentication, authorization, and mobility management for UE 120.

5G SA RAN 215 may provide wireless network access to UE 120 and mayinclude, among other components, at least one base-band unit (BBU) andmultiple remote radio heads (RRHs) for providing a radio communicationinterface to a UE 120 that subscribes to 5G wireless network servicefrom network 105. A “base station” of 5G SA RAN 215 of wireless network105 may include a BBU connected to a RRH, and the RRH may connect to anantenna array of a tower of the base station.

The configuration of network components of network environment 200 shownin FIG. 2 is for illustrative purposes. Other configurations may beimplemented. Therefore, network environment 200 may include additional,fewer and/or different components that may be configured in a differentarrangement than that depicted in FIG. 2. For example, though only asingle UE 120 is shown, multiple UEs 120 may wirelessly connect with 4GNSA RAN 230 and/or 5G SA RAN 215 to send and/or receive data traffic.

FIG. 3 is a diagram that depicts exemplary components of a device 300.UE 120, MME 235, SMF 125, PGW 130 (i.e., PGW-C 130-C and PGW-U 130-U),PCF 100, UPF 225, SGW 240, and PGW 245 may be implemented by or on asame, or similar, components as device 300, and may be arranged in asame, or similar, configuration as device 300. MECs 210 may additionallyeach include one or more of devices 300 networked together. Device 300may include a bus 310, a processor 315, a main memory 320, a read onlymemory (ROM) 330, a storage device 340, an input device 350, an outputdevice 360, and a communication interface 370. Bus 310 may include apath that permits communication among the other components of device300.

Processor 315 may include one or more processors or microprocessorswhich may interpret and execute stored instructions associated with oneor more processes. Additionally, or alternatively, processor 315 mayinclude processing logic that implements the one or more processes. Forexample, processor 315 may include programmable logic such as FieldProgrammable Gate Arrays (FPGAs), Graphic Processing Units (GPUs), oraccelerators. Processor 315 may include software, hardware, or acombination of software and hardware for executing the processesdescribed herein.

Main memory 320 may include a random access memory (RAM) or another typeof dynamic storage device that may store information and, in someimplementations, instructions for execution by processor 315. ROM 330may include a ROM device or another type of static storage device (e.g.,Electrically Erasable Programmable ROM (EEPROM)) that may store staticinformation and, in some implementations, instructions for use byprocessor 315. Storage device 340 may include a magnetic, optical,and/or solid state (e.g., flash drive) recording medium and itscorresponding drive. Main memory 320, ROM 330 and storage device 340 mayeach be referred to herein as a “non-transitory computer-readablemedium” or a “non-transitory storage medium.” The processes/methods setforth herein (or at least a portion of the processes/methods set forthherein) can be implemented as instructions that are stored in mainmemory 320, ROM 330 and/or storage device 340 for execution by processor315 of a device 300.

Input device 350 may include one or more devices that permit an operatorto input information to device 300, such as, for example, a keypad or akeyboard, a display with a touch sensitive panel, voice recognitionand/or biometric mechanisms, etc. Output device 360 may include one ormore devices that output information to the operator, including adisplay, a speaker, etc. Input device 350 and output device 360 may, insome implementations, be implemented as a user interface (UI), such as atouch screen display, that displays UI information, and which receivesuser input via the UI. Communication interface 370 may include one ormore transceivers that enable device 300 to communicate with otherdevices and/or systems. For example, if device 300 is a UE 120,communication interface 370 may include a wireless transceiver forcommunicating via a wireless link with 4G RAN 230 and/or 5G RAN 215. Asanother example, if device 300 is a network device of a MEC 210,communication interface 370 may include a wired transceiver forcommunicating with another network device of MEC 210, with PDN 205, orwith wireless network 105 (e.g., with PGW 130 or UPF 225).

Device 300 may perform certain operations or processes, as may bedescribed herein. Device 300 may perform these operations in response toprocessor 315 executing software instructions contained in acomputer-readable medium, such as memory 320. A computer-readable mediummay be defined as a physical or logical memory device. A logical memorydevice may include memory space within a single physical memory deviceor spread across multiple physical memory devices. The softwareinstructions may be read into main memory 320 from anothercomputer-readable medium, such as storage device 340, or from anotherdevice via communication interface 370. The software instructionscontained in main memory 320 may cause processor 315 to perform theoperations or processes, as described herein. Alternatively, hardwiredcircuitry (e.g., logic hardware) may be used in place of, or incombination with, software instructions to implement the operations orprocesses, as described herein. Thus, exemplary implementations are notlimited to any specific combination of hardware circuitry and software.

The configuration of components of device 300 illustrated in FIG. 3 isfor illustrative purposes only. Other configurations may be implemented.Therefore, device 300 may include additional, fewer and/or differentcomponents, arranged in a different configuration, than depicted in FIG.3. For example, device 300 may additionally include a Global PositioningSystem (GPS) unit or device that can determine a geographic location ofdevice 300. Additionally, device 300 may include additional specialpurpose components, not shown in FIG. 3, that may operate together withthe depicted components of device 300.

FIG. 4 is a flow diagram that illustrates an exemplary process forapplying different conditional policy rules to UE traffic based on ageographic location of the UE 120. The exemplary process of FIG. 4 maybe implemented by PCF 100 in conjunction with SMF 125 and/or PGW 130.The process of FIG. 4 is described below with reference to the examplesignal/operations flow diagrams of FIGS. 5 and 6. Prior to execution ofthe process of FIG. 4, one or more conditional policy rule sets may beuploaded to PCF 100 for storage. In some implementations, a networkadministrator of wireless network 105 may generate the one or morecondition policy rule sets and upload the rule sets to PCF 100.

The exemplary process includes PCF 100 obtaining multiple sets of UElocation-based conditional policy rules (block 400) and sending a set ofthe multiple sets of UE location-based conditional policy rules to theSMF 125 and/or PGW 130 (block 410). PCF 100 may retrieve, from localmemory, a previously stored set of UE location-based conditional policyrules. In some implementations, the previously stored sets of UElocation-based conditional policy rules may be designated solely for useby a particular UE 120. In other implementations, the previously storedsets of UE location-based conditional policy rules may be designated foruse by a group of UEs that includes the particular UE 120. PCF 100 may,for example, receive a device identifier (ID) for a UE 120 from SMF 125or PGW 130, retrieve a subscriber profile that corresponds to the deviceID, and then select a set of UE location-based policy rules based on theretrieved subscriber profile. PCF 100 then sends the selected set ofpolicy rules to the SMF 125 and/or PGW 130. In some implementations, anode in wireless network 105 (e.g., MME 235, SMF 125, or PGW 130) maytrigger PCF 100 to obtain the set of UE location-based conditionalpolicy rules based on UE 120 powering up from a powered down state. Inone example, the set(s) of UE located-based conditional policy rules mayinclude policy rules that apply QoS rules to UE traffic based on acurrent geographic location of the UEs. In another example, the set(s)of UE location-based conditional policy rules may include policy rulesthat select MECs, from multiple MECs, for handling particular UE trafficbased on a current geographic location of the UEs. Referring to theexample of FIG. 5, PCF 100 obtains 505 multiple sets of UElocation-based conditional policy rules for, and sends a message 510 toSMF 125/PGW-C 130-C that includes a selected set of the multiple sets ofUE location-based conditional policy rules.

In an example in which UE location-based conditional policy rules areapplied to select an MEC, from multiple MECs, for handling a UE 120'straffic, each MEC 210 (see FIG. 2) may be installed at a differentgeographic location relative to wireless network 105 and UE 120. Forlower latency service, for example, a MEC 210 may be installed at ageographic location in close proximity to a certain venue (e.g., concertarena) or other high traffic location. When each MEC 210 is installed,the geographic location is noted (e.g., using GPS coordinates) andsupplied to PCF 100, and possibly to other network nodes in wirelessnetwork 105. PCF 100, therefore, maintains a database of geographiclocations for each of MECs 210-1 through 210-y. Referring to the exampleof FIG. 6 shows PCF 100 sending a message 600 to SMF 125/PGW 130 thatincludes MEC site location information for MECs 210. PCF 100 furtherobtains 610 a set of UE location-based policy rules for MEC siteselection, and sends a message 615 that includes the set of UElocation-based policy rules to SMF 125/PGW-C 130-C.

SMF 125 and/or PGW-C 130-C stores the received set of UE location-basedconditional policy rules (block 420). Upon receipt from PCF 100 viawireless network 1095, SMF 125/PGW-C 130-C locally stores the receivedset of policy rules for subsequent retrieval for control of traffic toand from the UE 120. In the example in which UE location-basedconditional policy rules are used to select a MEC from among multipleMECs, SMF 125/PGW-C 130-C stores the received MEC site locationinformation and the set of UE location-based MEC site selectionconditional policy rules. The set of UE location-based conditionalpolicy rules may include, for example, rules that select a particularMEC site (or sites) based on a comparison of the UE 120's currentgeographic location and the MEC site locations so as to, for example,offload the UE's traffic to a MEC site(s) that provides a best level ofservice for the UE (e.g., a closest MEC site that provides the lowestlatency). For example, a conditional policy rule may include a statementsuch as the following: if UE's current location satisfies a particularcondition, then select MEC site X As a specific example, a conditionalpolicy rule may include the following statement: if the UE's geographiclocation is within a distance Y of MEC site location X, then select MECX for handling the UE's traffic. In some implementations, a node inwireless network 105 (e.g., MME 235, SMF 125, PGW 130) may trigger PCF100 to obtain the multiple sets of UE location-based conditional policyrules based on UE 120 powering up from a powered down state.

SMF 125/PGW-C 130-C determines the UE 120's geographic location (block430) and determines if the UE 120's geographic location matches aconditional location from the set of policy rules (block 440). In oneimplementation, SMF 125/PGW-C 130-C may identify the base stationserving the UE 120 which may, in turn, be mapped to the base station'sgeographic location. In another implementation, SMF 125/PGW-C 130-C mayobtain Global Positioning System (GPS) data from the UE 120 itself toidentify the UE 120's precise geographic location. In a furtherimplementation, SMF 125/PGW-C 130-C may identify the Presence ReportingArea (PRA) associated with the UE 120 to further identify whether thePRA is a 4G-only coverage area or a 5G coverage area. In animplementation in which SMF 125/PGW-C 130-C identifies the base stationserving the UE 120, SMF 125/PGW-C 130-C further identifies whether thebase station is located within 5G SA RAN 215 (i.e., a 5G coverage area)or 4G NSA RAN 230 (i.e., a 4G coverage area) to determine if the basestation is within a 4G or a 5G coverage area. In an implementation inwhich SMF 125/PGW-C 130-C obtains the UE 120's GPS data to determine theUE 120's geographic location, SMF 125/PGW-C 130-C compares the GPS datawith known 4G and 5G coverage boundaries to determine whether UE 120 iswithin a 4G or 5G coverage area.

If the UE 120's geographic location matches a conditional location ofthe set of policy rules, then SMF 125/PGW-C 130-C applies the policyrule, having the matching conditional location, to the UE 120's traffic(block 450). In an example in which QoS conditional policy rules may beselectively applied based on the UE 120's geographic location, a firstQoS policy rule of the set of conditional policy rules may restrict theUE 120 to data transport at a first QoS level (e.g., video streamingwith a lower video resolution, such as 720p) if the UE 120 is currentlylocated at a geographic location that corresponds to a 4G coverage area;and a second QoS policy rule may permit the UE 120 to engage in datatransport at a second, better QoS level (e.g., video streaming at ahigher video resolution, such as 4K) if the UE 120 is currently locatedat a geographic location that corresponds to a 5G coverage area.

FIG. 5 depicts an example in which SMF 125/PGW-C 130-C determines 515the UE 120's geographic location and applies 520 a policy rule, having amatching conditional location, to the UE 120's traffic. In a firstcircumstance where the UE 120 is located in a first geographic locationcorresponding to a 5G coverage area, then SMF 125/PGW-C 130-C applies afirst QoS conditional policy rule 525, from multiple QoS rules, to theUE traffic 530 involved in transport. Application of the UE-locationbased QoS conditional policy rule 525 may include UPF 225/PGW-U 130-U,which is handling the UE 120's traffic, receiving the location-based QoSpolicy rule from SMF 125/PGW-C 130-C and applying the 5G-specific QoSpermissions/restrictions of the QoS policy rule to the UE traffic 530.For example, UPF 225/PGW-U 130-U, in accordance with the UE-locationbased conditional policy rule 525, may enable the UE 120 to use highresolution video (e.g., 4K video resolution) when streaming video withinthe UE 120's traffic 530.

In a second circumstance where the UE 120 is located in a geographiclocation corresponding to a 4G coverage area, then SMF 125/PGW-C 130-C130 applies a second QoS conditional policy rule 535, from the multipleQoS rules, to the UE traffic 540 involved in transport. Application ofthe UE-location based QoS conditional policy rule 535 may include UPF225/PGW-U 130-U, which is handling the UE 120's traffic, receiving thelocation-based QoS policy rule from SMF 125/PGW-C 130-C and applying the4G-specific QoS permissions/restrictions of the QoS policy rule to theUE traffic 540. For example, UPF 225/PGW-U 130-U, in accordance with theUE-location based QoS conditional policy rule 535, may restrict the UE120 to use of a lower video resolution (e.g., 720p video resolution)when streaming video within the UE 120's traffic 540.

In a simplified example in which two MECs, MEC 1 and MEC 2, areconnected to wireless network 105, SMF 125/PGW 130 may use the UE 120'sgeographic location in conjunction with the set of conditional policyrules to select either MEC 1 or MEC 2 for handling the traffic to and/orfrom a UE 120. In this simplified example, the set of conditional policyrules may include the following two conditional policy rules:

-   -   1) if the UE's geographic location is within a distance Y₁ of        MEC 1's site location X₁, then select MEC 1 for handling the        UE's traffic; and    -   2) if the UE's geographic location is within a distance Y₂ of        MEC 2's site location X₂, then select MEC 2.        Application of the two conditional policy rules, in this        simplified example, results in selection of either MEC 1 or MEC        2 for handling the traffic from the UE 120. SMF 125/PGW-C        130-C's use of a set of conditional policy rules enables the        selection of a MEC that provides the best performance (e.g.,        lowest latency) for traffic to and from the UE 120. Also, as the        UE 120 moves within wireless network 105, the exemplary process        of FIG. 4 enables re-selection of a MEC 210 for handling traffic        to and from the moving UE 120. Thus, as the UE 120 moves within        wireless network 105, the UE 120's traffic may be offloaded from        a first MEC to a second MEC that can provide a better        performance, such as a better latency. Though only 2 MECs are        described above, wireless network 105 may connect to numerous        MECs (e.g., three or more), and the set of conditional policy        rules may include policy rules for selecting a MEC of the        numerous MECs based on a geographic location of the UEs.

FIG. 6 shows examples of SMF 125/PGW-C 130-C determining 620 the UE120's geographic location and applying 625 a policy rule, having amatching conditional location, to the UE's traffic for MEC siteselection. In a first circumstance, where the UE 120 is located at afirst geographic location in wireless network 105, SMF 125/PGW-C 130-C,subsequent to identifying a MEC selection policy rule of the set of MECselection policy rules that has a conditional location that matches theUE 120's current geographic location, determines the selected MEC (e.g.,MEC 210-1 in FIG. 6) from the identified MEC selection policy rule. SMF125/PGW-C 130-C further selects a first UPF 225-1/PGW-U₁ 130-U₁, frommultiple UPFs/PGW-Us within wireless network 105, to handle transportingUE 120's traffic to/from the selected MEC. SMF 125/PGW-C 130-C thensends a message 630 that includes data identifying the selected MEC site(MEC 210-1 in FIG. 6) to the selected UPF 225-1/PGW-U₁ 130-U₁. Uponreceipt of message 630, UPF 225-1/PGW-U₁ 130-U₁ routes the UE's datatraffic 635 to/from the MEC 210-1 indicated by the received message 630.

In a second circumstance, where the UE 120 is located at a secondgeographic location in wireless network 105, SMF 125/PGW-C 130-C,subsequent to identifying a MEC selection policy rule of the set of MECselection policy rules that has a conditional location that matches theUE 120's current geographic location, determines the selected MEC (e.g.,MEC 210-2 in FIG. 6) from the identified MEC selection policy rule. SMF125/PGW-C 130-C further selects a second UPF 225-2/PGW-U₂ 130-U₂, fromthe multiple UPFs/PGW-Us within wireless network 105, to handletransporting UE 120's traffic to/from the selected MEC. SMF 125/PGW-C130-C then sends a message 640 that includes data identifying theselected MEC site (MEC 210-2 in FIG. 6) to the selected UPF 225-2/PGW-U₂130-U₂. Upon receipt of message 640, UPF 225-2/PGW-U₂ 130-U₂ routes theUE's data traffic 645 to/from the MEC 210-2 indicated by the receivedmessage 640.

In some implementations, the exemplary process of FIG. 4 may be repeatedeach time a UE 120 powers up from a powered down condition. Furthermore,blocks 430-450 of FIG. 4 may be selectively repeated to identify acurrent geographic location of the UE 120 and to apply conditionalpolicy rules (e.g., for UE location-specific QoS control or MECselection) as the UE 120's current geographic location changes withinwireless network 105.

The foregoing description of implementations provides illustration anddescription, but is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit theinvention to the precise form disclosed. Modifications and variationsare possible in light of the above teachings or may be acquired frompractice of the invention. For example, while a series of blocks hasbeen described with respect to FIG. 4, and a sequence of operations,messages, and/or data flows with respect to FIGS. 5 and 6, the order ofthe blocks and/or the operations, messages, and data flows may be variedin other implementations. Moreover, non-dependent blocks may beperformed in parallel.

Certain features described above may be implemented as “logic” or a“unit” that performs one or more functions. This logic or unit mayinclude hardware, such as one or more processors, microprocessors,application specific integrated circuits, or field programmable gatearrays, software, or a combination of hardware and software.

Embodiments have been described without reference to the specificsoftware code because the software code can be designed to implement theembodiments based on the description herein and commercially availablesoftware design environments and/or languages. For example, varioustypes of programming languages including, for example, a compiledlanguage, an interpreted language, a declarative language, or aprocedural language may be implemented.

Additionally, embodiments described herein may be implemented as anon-transitory computer-readable storage medium that stores data and/orinformation, such as instructions, program code, a data structure, aprogram module, an application, a script, or other known or conventionalform suitable for use in a computing environment. The program code,instructions, application, etc., is readable and executable by aprocessor (e.g., processor 415) of a device. A non-transitory storagemedium includes one or more of the storage mediums described in relationto memory/storage 420. The non-transitory computer-readable storagemedium may be implemented in a centralized, distributed, or logicaldivision that may include a single physical memory device or multiplephysical memory devices spread across one or multiple network devices.

To the extent the aforementioned embodiments collect, store or employpersonal information of individuals, such information shall becollected, stored, and used in accordance with all applicable lawsconcerning protection of personal information. Additionally, thecollection, storage and use of such information can be subject toconsent of the individual to such activity, for example, through wellknown “opt-in” or “opt-out” processes as can be appropriate for thesituation and type of information. Collection, storage and use ofpersonal information can be in an appropriately secure manner reflectiveof the type of information, for example, through various encryption andanonymization techniques for particularly sensitive information.

No element, act, or instruction used in the description of the presentapplication should be construed as critical or essential to theinvention unless explicitly described as such. Also, as used herein, thearticle “a” is intended to include one or more items. Further, thephrase “based on” is intended to mean “based, at least in part, on”unless explicitly stated otherwise.

All structural and functional equivalents to the elements of the variousaspects set forth in this disclosure that are known or later come to beknown to those of ordinary skill in the art are expressly incorporatedherein by reference and are intended to be encompassed by the claims. Noclaim element of a claim is to be interpreted under 35 U.S.C. § 112(f)unless the claim element expressly includes the phrase “means for” or“step for.”

Use of ordinal terms such as “first,” “second,” “third,” etc., in theclaims to modify a claim element does not by itself connote anypriority, precedence, or order of one claim element over another, thetemporal order in which acts of a method are performed, the temporalorder in which instructions executed by a device are performed, etc.,but are used merely as labels to distinguish one claim element having acertain name from another element having a same name (but for use of theordinal term) to distinguish the claim elements.

In the preceding specification, various preferred embodiments have beendescribed with reference to the accompanying drawings. It will, however,be evident that various modifications and changes may be made thereto,and additional embodiments may be implemented, without departing fromthe broader scope of the invention as set forth in the claims thatfollow. The specification and drawings are accordingly to be regarded inan illustrative rather than restrictive sense.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method, comprising: receiving, from a policycontrol function (PCF), at least one set of a plurality of userequipment device (UE)-location based conditional policy rules; selectinga first one of the plurality of UE-location based conditional policyrules based on a first geographic location of a first UE; andcontrolling data traffic associated with the first UE using the selectedfirst one of the plurality of UE-location based conditional policyrules.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein each of the plurality ofUE-location based conditional policy rules comprises a conditional rulethat controls, or applies a network function or action to, the datatraffic associated with the first UE based on the first geographiclocation of the first UE.
 3. The method of claim 1, further comprising:selecting a second one of the plurality of UE-location based conditionalpolicy rules based on a second geographic location of a second UE; andcontrolling data traffic associated with the second UE using theselected second one of the plurality of UE-location based conditionalpolicy rules.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein receiving the at leastone set of a plurality of UE-location based conditional policy rules isperformed by a session management function (SMF) or a packet datanetwork gateway (PGW) in a network.
 5. The method of claim 1, whereinthe plurality of UE-location based conditional policy rules comprises aplurality of quality of service (QoS) rules, and wherein selecting thefirst one of the plurality of UE-location based conditional policy rulesfurther comprises: selecting a first QoS rule, from the plurality of QoSrules, for controlling the data traffic associated with the first UE ifthe first geographic location comprises a first location; and selectinga second conditional QoS rule, from the plurality of QoS rules, forcontrolling the data traffic associated with the first UE if the firstgeographic location comprises a second location that is different thanthe first location.
 6. The method of claim 5, wherein the first locationcomprises a Fourth Generation (4G) wireless network coverage area andwherein the second location comprises a Fifth Generation (5G) wirelessnetwork coverage area.
 7. The method of claim 1, wherein controlling thedata traffic further comprises: applying the selected first one of theplurality of UE-location based conditional policy rules to select amulti-access edge computing data center (MEC) from a plurality of MECs,for handling the data traffic associated with the first UE, based on thefirst geographic location of the first UE.
 8. The method of claim 7,further comprising: receiving geographic location information associatedwith each of the plurality of MECs, wherein controlling the data trafficfurther comprises: selecting the MEC from the plurality of MECs based onthe first geographic location of the first UE and the geographiclocation information associated with each of the plurality of MECs. 9.The method of claim 1, wherein selecting the first one of the pluralityof UE-location based conditional policy rules further comprises:selecting a first MEC selection rule to further select a first MEC froma plurality of MECs if the first geographic location of the first UEcomprises a first geographic location or a first geographic area; andselecting a second MEC selection rule to further select a second MECfrom the plurality of MECs if the first geographic location of the firstUE comprises a second geographic location or a second geographic area.10. A network device, comprising: at least one communication interfaceconfigured to receive, from a policy control function (PCF), at leastone set of a plurality of user equipment device (UE)-location basedconditional policy rules; and a processor or logic configured to: selecta first one of the plurality of UE-location based conditional policyrules based on a first geographic location of a first UE, and controldata traffic associated with the first UE using the selected first oneof the plurality of UE-location based conditional policy rules.
 11. Thenetwork device of claim 10, wherein the processor or logic is furtherconfigured to: select a second one of the plurality of UE-location basedconditional policy rules based on a second geographic location of asecond UE, and control data traffic associated with the second UE usingthe selected second one of the plurality of UE-location basedconditional policy rules.
 12. The network device of claim 10, whereinthe network device implements a session management function (SMF) or apacket data network gateway (PGW) in a network.
 13. The network deviceof claim 10, wherein the plurality of UE-location based conditionalpolicy rules comprises a plurality of quality of service (QoS) rules,and wherein, when selecting the first one of the plurality ofUE-location based conditional policy rules, the processor or logic isfurther configured to: select a first QoS rule, from the plurality ofQoS rules, for controlling the data traffic associated with the first UEif the first geographic location comprises a first location, and selecta second conditional QoS rule, from the plurality of QoS rules, forcontrolling the data traffic associated with the first UE if the firstgeographic location comprises a second location that is different thanthe first location.
 14. The network device of claim 13, wherein thefirst location comprises a Fourth Generation (4G) wireless networkcoverage area and wherein the second location comprises a FifthGeneration (5G) wireless network coverage area.
 15. The network deviceof claim 10, wherein, when controlling the data traffic, the processoror logic is further configured to: apply the selected first one of theplurality of UE-location based conditional policy rules to select amulti-access edge computing data center (MEC) from a plurality of MECs,for handling the data traffic associated with the first UE, based on thefirst geographic location of the first UE.
 16. The network device ofclaim 15, wherein the at least one communication interface is furtherconfigured to receive geographic location information associated witheach of the plurality of MECs, wherein, when controlling the datatraffic, the processor logic is further configured to: select the MECfrom the plurality of MECs based on the first geographic location of thefirst UE and the geographic location information associated with each ofthe plurality of MECs.
 17. The network device of claim 10, wherein, whenselecting the first one of the plurality of UE-location basedconditional policy rules, the processor or logic is further configuredto: select a first MEC selection rule to further select a first MEC froma plurality of MECs if the first geographic location of the first UEcomprises a first geographic location or a first geographic area, andselect a second MEC selection rule to further select a second MEC fromthe plurality of MECs if the first geographic location of the first UEcomprises a second geographic location or a second geographic area. 18.A non-transitory storage medium storing instructions executable by anetwork device with one or more processors, wherein execution of theinstructions cause the network device to: receive, from a policy controlfunction (PCF), at least one set of a plurality of user equipment device(UE)-location based conditional policy rules; select a first one of theplurality of UE-location based conditional policy rules based on a firstgeographic location of a first UE; and control data traffic associatedwith the first UE using the selected first one of the plurality ofUE-location based conditional policy rules.
 19. The non-transitorystorage medium of claim 18, wherein the plurality of UE-location basedconditional policy rules comprises a plurality of quality of service(QoS) rules, and wherein execution of the instructions to cause thenetwork device to select the first one of the plurality of UE-locationbased conditional policy rules further causes the network device to:select a first QoS rule, from the plurality of QoS rules, forcontrolling the data traffic associated with the first UE if the firstgeographic location comprises a first location; and select a secondconditional QoS rule, from the plurality of QoS rules, for controllingthe data traffic associated with the first UE if the first geographiclocation comprises a second location that is different than the firstlocation.
 20. The non-transitory storage medium of claim 18, whereinexecution of the instructions to cause the network device to select thefirst one of the plurality of UE-location based conditional policy rulesfurther causes the network device to: select a first MEC selection ruleto further select a first MEC from a plurality of MECs if the firstgeographic location of the first UE comprises a first geographiclocation or a first geographic area; and select a second MEC selectionrule to further select a second MEC from the plurality of MECs if thefirst geographic location of the first UE comprises a second geographiclocation or a second geographic area.